Start with the answer
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators pay in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL and Lafayette, LA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators is $45,470 per year in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL. It is $64,950 per year in Lafayette, LA. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL is 30.0% below Lafayette, LA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 51-2090 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 2,550 wage and salary jobs in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL and 530 in Lafayette, LA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings